Daily Archives: 10 November, 2011

I don’t feel like a lot of people have the respect for prescription medication that it warrants. And sorry, but I see NO reason why any prescription should be ‘lost.’

I agree. There is no reason to lose a prescription. That’s why I felt like an idiot when I did it.

My most recent medicine came, conveniently, in two bottles. Thinking that the two separate bottles were perfect, I put one in the kitchen cabinet with all my other prescriptions, and took the other out to the car. If it was in the car, then I’d have the option of being away from home at mealtime.

It worked great. At least it did until the day I took the last pill out of the bottle in the kitchen and went to the garage to get some of the medicine out of the other bottle. The bottle was gone.

I looked everywhere. It wasn’t in the cup holder where I’d been keeping it. It wasn’t in the center console. It wasn’t in the glove box. It wasn’t under the seat. I was getting frantic. I can’t eat without those pills!

I searched the car again. I looked under the other seats and in the back. That bottle was nowhere to be found. Thinking back, I remembered where I’d last taken those pills. I was wearing my green coat, and I also had my laptop computer. I checked all my coat pockets. Nothing. I emptied my computer bag. Still nothing.

I lost my prescription. How can someone lose an entire bottle of pills? What kind of idiot does that?!

I didn’t have any refills, and even if I did, it was too soon for insurance to pay. Having no pills, I didn’t eat that day. I spent my time looking everywhere (again) that I thought those pills might be – and a lot of places I didn’t think they could be.

It’s bad enough to have lost my pills, but I couldn’t get out of this mess without help. Finally I phoned my doctor’s office and they phoned in a refill for me. I was dreading my trip to the pharmacy, because those pills cost over $100 and it would be out of my own pocket.

At the pharmacy I sheepishly explained to my pharmacist that I’m an idiot. She looked at me incredulously and exclaimed, “That’s a huge bottle! How could you lose it?!”

She was right. It’s not one of those tiny prescription bottles. This stuff stays in the manufacturer’s bottle and just gets an Rx label slapped on it. I had no idea how I could have lost it.

I explained what had happened, and told her I realized that insurance wouldn’t pay since it was my screw-up, but I really needed those pills. Before ringing up the sale, she worked her magic and got my insurance to cover the pills. To me, that’s going above and beyond the call of duty.

She rang up my prescription and I signed the little electronic pad. I then opened my purse to pay. There, beside my wallet, was my missing prescription bottle. It was in my purse! I am such an idiot.

I still think there’s no excuse for losing a prescription. It happens, though. People aren’t perfect – not even close.